“…God tested Abraham. God said, ‘Abraham!’ ‘Yes?’ answered Abraham. ‘I’m listening.’” (Genesis 22:1 [show] After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." (ESV)
)
My logical self does not hold much stock in signs or premonitions, but as the campaign went on, I knew something larger was afoot. I had a tugging feeling in my heart that I was supposed to do something, but I didn’t know what. I now know that I was being tested. Whenever God spoke to any of the patriarchs in the Bible, to whom he was going to give a task, He always started the conversation by calling their name, sometimes several times, until they said something tantamount to, ‘Yes, I’m listening.’ He called Adam, Noah, Abraham and Moses in this way.
In modern communication, we typically start into whatever subject we wish to discuss with whom we are speaking without making sure that we have our audience’s attention. God does not do this. He makes sure we are paying attention. He may not call us by name, but rather by placing people and events in our lives to cause us to notice Him, so that He can start a meaningful conversation with us.
